The present invention relates to office furniture units, and in particular to an over-centered lock arrangement therefor.
Lock arrangements for desks, credenzas and other similar office furniture units and/or work stations are generally known in the art. Some lock arrangements, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,057,307; 3,360,318 and 3,521,937 employ a side-to-side shifting action to lock and unlock the pedestal compartments. Connectors, such as rods, sliding channels and flexible cables have been used to connect a crank arm on the primary lock with the compartment lock to laterally shift the same between lock and unlocked positions.
When such prior lock arrangements are in the locked positions, external forces applied to the connector in a direction to force the lock open are transmitted directly to the lock tumblers. Such external forces can result from slight misalignment between the pedestals and the top. Although these forces are relatively small, they can cause difficulty in inserting and withdrawing the key, or rotation of the tumbler cylinder, as well as premature tumbler wear. External forces can also result from tampering or attempts to surreptitiously enter the furniture unit. In such cases, the forces are relatively high, and typically cause substantial damage to the lock tumblers, such that the entire lock must be replaced.